The global dominance of neoliberal policy prescriptions in recent decades has been well documented, with particular implications for educational systems. These include reduced public expenditure and provision, the promotion of individual (parental) choice, competition, increased user-pays and the privatisation of education. Against this background, this paper reviews contemporary educational reforms in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, which are moving in a counter direction. In particular, I examine the expansion of publicly funded education, and its overtly politicised objective of preparing citizens to contribute to the Bolivarian socialist project being advanced in the country. Through this counter example, I argue that the Venezuelan case highlights the potential for substantive policy alternatives to neoliberalism into the twenty-first century. (Contains 5 notes.)